Measuring medical students’ empathy using direct verbal expressions
Purpose: Empathy is an important trait in physicians and a key element in the physician-patient relationship. Accordingly, one of the goals in medical education is developing empathy in students. We attempted to practically assess medical students’ empathy through their direct verbal expressions. Me...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society of Medical Education
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Korean Journal of Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://kjme.kr/upload/pdf/kjme-2016-35.pdf |
| Summary: | Purpose: Empathy is an important trait in physicians and a key element in the physician-patient relationship. Accordingly, one of the goals in medical education is developing empathy in students. We attempted to practically assess medical students’ empathy through their direct verbal expressions. Methods: The medical students’ empathy was measured using the modified Pencil-and-Paper Empathy Rating Test by Winefield and Chur-Hansen (2001). The students took 15 minutes or so to complete the scale, and it was then scored by one of two trained evaluators (0 to 4 points for each item, for a total score of 40). The subjects were 605 medical students, and the data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance in SPSS version 21.0. Results: The students’ empathy scores were low (mean, 12.13; standard deviation, 2.55); their most common responses (78.6%) registered as non-empathetic. Differences in empathy were observed by gender (female students>male students; t=-5.068, p<0.001), school system (medical school>medical college; t=-1.935, p=0.053), and academic level (pre-medical 1 year < other years; t=-4.050, p<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings lead us to the significant conclusion that there is the need for empathy enhancement training programs with practical content. |
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| ISSN: | 2005-727X 2005-7288 |